Tony Immorlica (KC2TV)
How long have you been a Ham?
I got started in Ham Radio as a teenage Boy Scout. My very first issue of Boy’s Life magazine had a cover picturing a ham operating a radio patch and an article about ham radio. [I still have that January 1959 issue]. I was hooked. I soon earned both the Radio and Electronics merit badges and was on my way to becoming an Eagle Scout. One of the scout leaders mentored me and I remember scavenging parts from old TV’s and radios to home-brew some rigs. After saving some money, we were off to Canal Street in New York City where I purchased a Gonset G33 general communications receiver, and a surplus ARC-5 transmitter. [Canal St. was packed with stores selling surplus World War II radio equipment, and was famous for that]. My first novice call was WN2GOB; novice calls were good for only one year and were not renewable. Next was a technician license - WB2GOB – and when I was able to get my CW up to 13 words a minute I graduated to General Class. After moving to California, I became WB6ENI – back then your call needed to reflect your station location. My Ham hobby led to degrees in Electrical Engineering, so when the 20-wpm code requirement was dropped I easily upgraded to Extra. I took a one-year sabbatical in Norway and got licensed as LA0CT, enjoying operating at the University of Oslo ham station and having skeds with friends in California. When returning, this time to New York, I became KC2TV, and stuck with that call.
What mode(s) within Amateur Radio do you enjoy operating?
I operate pretty exclusively SSB. I’d like to operate CW also, but am not very proficient in that mode – maybe someday. I’m intrigued by the digital modes, like FT8, RTTY, etc. and will pick that up, soon, I hope. I recently purchased the ARRL book: Here to There: Radio Wave Propagation, and am learning some of the prediction tools such as VOCAP. Maybe I’ll get into WSPR and the reverse beacon networks to get a better real time picture of propagation paths. Never did satellite comms – I don’t have any VHF capability above 50 MHz, but when I do, I’ll give it a try.
Describe your involvement with GSARA.
Not sure how long I’ve been a member, and prior to COVID attended many meetings in person. I have been joining in on Zoom and participated in several Field Day events. I have a lot of fun at the December Yankee Swap meetings and find our leadership is doing a great job with club activities and the GSARA web site
What is one piece of advice you would give a new Ham?
Get on the air as much as you can and try different modes – you will soon find one to your liking. Ham Radio equipment can be very expensive or very cheap [lots of good used equipment out there] but get a good antenna and ground system. It can be a simple wire antenna or an elaborate tower and beam, but start simple.
Is there anything else you would like to share?
I’m also very active in Civil Air Patrol Communications. We have CODAN and Micom radios which are ALE capable and our digital messages are encrypted. CAP also provided battery backup capability, including a solar array. Someone is always on monitoring an HF sweet of frequencies from 3 to 30 MHz, 24/7, and we pass messages from national headquarters in Alabama to wings around the country daily to maintain proficiency in traffic handling. CAP is an adjunct of the US Air Force, and as such we maintain this backup comm capability round the clock in case of a “very bad day” event.